


third time's the charm

by peeira



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Gen, Jinchuuriki Nohara Rin, Kekkei Genkai | Bloodline Limit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-07-12 07:40:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15990704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peeira/pseuds/peeira
Summary: Rin feels a Tailed-Beast sealed into her and decides to stay behind in order to avoid wreaking havoc in Konoha. It hurts, but Kakashi lets her go. And it hurts even more when Obito, whom he thought dead, shows up.Meanwhile, things in Kirigakure are not what they seem, and Mei Terumi is tasked with the mission of retrieving the rogue Jinchiruuki.[A Jinchuuriki!Rin AU. With world building and badass ladies.]





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should have done this before but better late than never:
> 
> \- Rin deserves better than to die for male angst that's for sure, so one day I had the idea for a Jinchuuriki!Rin AU where she runs away before *that* happens.  
> \- Rin deserves a gf. Mei/Rin is a super rare pair but here we go! Enemies-to-Friends-to-Lovers is one of my favourite fic tropes, and there's barely any F/F of it, so I'm excited to try this out! There will be other minor ships, though (MinaKushi is for granted, but other secret F/F pairs will arise). ;)  
> \- I actually have most of this fic planned out, I just need to write it. (I'm not a professional writer or anything - I only started writing very recently, but I hope my writing style is bearable enough for you guys to like this story!) :>  
> \- English is not my first language, and I do the editing/checking myself so I may make some mistakes but feel free to call me out on those! I use European English, so expect words like "colour", "armour", "grey", etc.

Something is very, very wrong.

The last few hours are a blur on Rin’s mind, and it _hurts_.

She finds herself running for her life together with Kakashi, and they are being followed by Anbu from Kirigakure. Buy why? The war just ended. Wait, Kirigakure? Why does that-

“Hold on, Rin!” she is pulled back to reality as Kakashi shouts her name, the sound of thunder and falling rain making it difficult to hear him clearly. “We’re almost there!”

“Kakashi!” she yells, trying to get his attention but to no avail.

_Go to Konoha._

Her mind doesn’t seem to be her own and she’s terrified at the thoughts she’s now having. The closer she’s approaching the border the dizzier it gets.

“Kakashi, listen to me!” she stops on her tracks and skids on the wet and muddy ground. “Something is wrong with me. I can’t go back to Konoha. Or else…”

_Unleash the beast._

He stops immediately and turns back alarmed. “What’s wrong?” he shouts and paces towards her. “We need to get moving! They’re coming at any second now!”

“I feel something inside me,” she says ignoring his warnings. “I can’t go back.”

“W-What are you talking about?”

She clasps her stomach. “They sealed... something into me. I can feel it trying to get out.”

“Sealed? You can’t possibly mean-”

She doesn’t blink. “I do.”

He narrows his eyes. “How is that possible?”

“I don’t remember,” she tells him. “But I can feel it. It’s like it’s telling me to go to Konoha and...” she struggles to find the right words. “...let it out.”

Kakashi’s alarmed expression doesn't cease, and his eyes keep flickering back to the imminent approaching enemy.

She glances to the direction he is looking at and says, “There's no one here yet. Kakashi, I can’t…” then turns to face him and gently takes his hand. “I can’t go back to Konoha. You need to go and warn Minato-sensei.”

He grabs her hand, trembling. “Then I’m staying too! I can’t leave you here all by yourself.”

“It’s okay. I’ll stay hidden until…” she stammers. “Until I can figure this out. I can’t risk being near other people.”

She tries to have her hand back, but he won’t let go of her. “No, I won’t leave you!”

“Kakashi, please,” she pleads. “Don’t let it happen like...” she doesn’t finish her sentence. She doesn’t need to; he knows exactly what she means.

Kakashi can hear the enemy rapidly approaching. He glances back at Rin and lets go of her hand. He takes a deep breath and then readies his hand, now flowing with chakra. “Go. I’ll take care of them.”

She nods and takes off.

* * *

Obito is frantically dashing through the forest, jumping from tree to tree. He struggles to avoid any branches as he listens to directions from the Zetsus accompanying him.

“They’re just up ahead,” the White Zetsu says. “Looks like they’re in really big trouble!”

“They’re surrounded by Kiri Anbu and jounin!” the Swirly Zetsu encased around him explains. “If we don’t hurry they’ll probably die!”

“I’m going! I’m going!” the young Uchiha says exasperated. “Dammit, why isn’t Minato-sensei with them? What other mission could be more important than this?”

He wouldn’t let it happened like last time. This time he was stronger. To hell with what Madara thinks, his friends were the only thing on his mind right now.

His mind races over Kakashi and Rin. With his Sharingan, he and Kakashi would be unstoppable on they joined forces.

There is a sudden flash of light in the distance, followed by falling droplets of water. “Over there!” He strides towards the flare and his eyes widen when he sees Kakashi right in the middle of it.

He sees several Hunter-nin dead on the ground, all seemingly electrocuted. Kakashi has his hand pierced through another one’s chest, blue chakra sparkling through it. He doesn’t seem to have noticed him yet.

“Kakashi!” Obito yells as the enemy falls from Kakashi’s hand into the bloody ground.

Kakashi freezes at the voice he just heard. He doesn’t even blink as he turns his head to see his dead friend now standing in front of him. “O-Obito…?” he falters.

Obito sprints towards Kakashi. “Kakashi! Where’s Rin?” he asks as he grabs the Hatake by the shoulders and starts shaking him. “Where is she? Wasn’t she supposed to be with you?”

This is too much for Kakashi. The friend he thought crushed to death was now standing right in front of him, yelling. He drops to his knees and starts mumbling. “I… You’re… How can this...”

Obito keeps shaking him until he sees more enemies approaching. “Behind you!” he yells as he lets go of Kakashi. Obito groans and large tree roots start emerging from the soaked ground. He stares at the Kiri-nin and extends his hand. The roots grab the shinobi and mercilessly crush them, spilling blood everywhere.

Obito’s eye darts to Kakashi getting back on his feet and he extends his hand to help. “What... What the hell was that?” Kakashi asks, as he gazes upon the now blood-soaked puddle. He takes Obito’s hand and realizes that he is wearing a dark cloak, completely covered in some kind of... white material. He only has one eye and his hair is considerably longer.

He still can’t believe he is standing in front of him. “What the hell... happened to you?”

Obito shakes his head, scanning the area expectantly for his other teammate to show up. “That’s not important right now, what matters is-,”

“I saw you _die_.” he interrupts, his voice crackling. He places a hand on his right eye. “You gave _this_ to me and...” he can’t finish.

“We need to find Rin.” the Uchiha insists. “With our eyes combined we’ll be unstoppable. We need to get to her.”

“We can’t! What we need to do is get back to Konoha as fast as we can,” Kakashi pleads. “I need to tell the Hokage about this!”

“What are you talking about? Are you saying we leave Rin behind?” he asks, perhaps more aggressively than he intended. He wouldn’t let it happen like last time. “What if they get to her!”

Kakashi tugs Obito’s hand firmly. “Obito, _please_. I thought I lost you,” he starts tearing up. “It was Rin’s idea to stay behind. She has… a Tailed Beast sealed inside her.”

“There’s a _what_ in _what_?” he shouts perplexed and throws his hands in the air. “Then that’s more reason to go after her! If we take her to-”

“She can’t come back,” he quickly cuts him off. “The moment she sets foot on Konoha the Beast will come out and attack everyone. What do you think will happen to her then?”

Obito doesn’t respond. He keeps glancing at the horizon, hoping she somehow appears in front of him despite everything he just heard.

“We need to go back so we can form a rescue party. It can’t be just the two of us,” he glances at Obito who’s facing the other way. “If she was taken by ninja from Kiri then we need to... Obito?”

Obito fidgets. He points forward and says, “There’s still time.”

“Even if we got to her, what could we do?” Kakashi asks. “She has a beast sealed into her. For all we know, it may force her to attack us. We would fail to report the situation to Konoha and then it would be chaos.” he says. “She was the one who asked me to stay behind. She knows what she’s doing.”

The Uchiha clenches his fists and sighs. “Fine. I trust her,” he looks at Kakashi. “If she says she’ll come back, then she’ll come back.”

“I don’t know what happened to you, or how you got here,” Kakashi begins. “But you need to go back to Konoha. You can’t imagine what we’ve been through,” he says, rubbing his Sharingan eye. “What _I’ve_ been through.”

Obito gazes at the sky one more time and then into the dead Anbu on the ground. Then he scuffs, “Let’s go.”

* * *

Rin doesn’t know for how long she is running, but she managed to find a ravine and is now standing near a small pond in the middle of it. She senses she is far away enough to finally evaluate the situation she now finds herself in.

She stiffens, mentally reading herself for whatever she will find. She lifts up her shirt and… oh no _. No, no, no_.

It’s exactly as she feared. She has a seal right in the middle of her stomach. It’s not the same type that Kushina has, however. Rin remembers seeing it one time during a visit to an onsen. Kushina's symbol has eight trigrams with a swirl in the middle, while Rin’s has only three and the design is... difficult to understand – one she doesn’t recognise from any books or history lessons.

Regardless, the seal on her abdomen means she now has one of the tailed beasts inside her. Rin presses her hands to her mouth and covers a loud scream. _This can’t be happening._

She shakes her head and straightens up, determined. There’s no other choice. She needs to talk to the beast. She has no idea how, but it’s the only thing she can think of; she has no idea why she got it and it might have some answers.

But then again, being sealed into her so suddenly might make it more aggressive and difficult to converse with. It was a risk she decided to take.

Rin takes a deep breath, gets on her knees and closes her eyes. She slowly inhales, then exhales.

When she opens her eyes, her surroundings are now dark and humid. She’s standing on top of a stagnant river, near a neatly built wooden temple. It’s filled with corals and lilies, and there is a small set of stairs leading to some sort of platform.

She turns around and pales. She sees a giant, three-tailed spiked turtle standing right in front of her, simply staring. It’s laying down and it has only one eye open. There’s no reaction from it at all.

Rin does not sense any eminent hostility. She gulps and gets up, carefully taking a step forward towards it. Then it addresses her, “This is quite a predicament.”

She immediately stops moving.

The beast starts getting up and speaks again. “It’s been some time since I was bound to another human,” it blinks with one eye. “I don’t like it.”

She doesn’t know how to respond to it. Although she doesn’t feel any malevolence coming from it, it’s still a tailed beast - not necessarily known for being well-behaved or friendly. And now, she was its jinchuriki.

She opens her mouth to respond, but it quickly interrupts her. “You’re a time bomb.”

She stiffens at the words and finally speaks. “...What does that mean?”

“You have a tag on your heart. If you don’t remove it somehow, we will both die.” the turtle answers. “And I really don’t want to die yet. Especially not because of some human who couldn’t defend itself.”

She grabs at her hair. “How is that even possible!”

“You should know,” it responds. “You were the one who got captured after all.”

Again. It happened _again_. First Iwa-nin, now Kiri-nin. _What’s next?_

She hesitates. “How did you get… sealed into me?”

“I was resting in a river, when I was ambushed by humans who put me to sleep. I never felt them coming,” the creature gets slightly closer to Rin, then points a claw at her. “The next thing I knew I was bound to you.”

She starts fidgets with her apron. “I don’t... remember any of that. I all I can remember is that I was on a mission in Konoha, then I somehow woke up in Kirigakure.”

The beast sighs, then starts turning around. “The more time you linger here, the less control of your actions you will have,” the three-tailed beast says as it sits. “See to it that you get rid of that tag.”

She cringes and clutches her chest. “Then what should I do? Where do I go?”

“The answer is not up to me.”

She begins walking towards it when she feels a sharp pain coming from her stomach. At the same time, a loud shriek seemingly comes from the Three-Tails and she quickly covers her ears and closes her eyes.

When her senses return to her she is back at the ravine, now soaked due to the rain. Rin falls to her knees and bursts out crying.

* * *

Mei Terumi fixes her top-knot and cleans off the blood from her clothes. She stares at the dead body at her feet and glances at the smirking jounin on the other side of the benches.

They stand up and clap. “Congratulations, miss Terumi,” one says, rather cheerfully. “You are now a fully-fledged genin and will be assigned on missions true to your value.” She closes her eyes and smiles, doing her best to seem genuine.

She does her best not to grimace. She does her best not to throw up when her dead opponent is bleeding out right on her feet, staining the already wet floor with red. There are scorch marks on the girl's left arm, whereas the right one is completely burned.

Kiri shinobi usually prefer lethal weapons like swords in order to cut their opponents up or preventing them from moving at all. But Mei doesn’t need a sword. She only needs to breath in and out.

 _We have high expectations from you_ , they tell her. _Your abilities will prove most valuable to our village_. Her throat is burning; she feels it slowly tearing up from the inside. But her eyes remain closed and her smile does not falter.

Mei Terumi wants to change Kirigakure. In order to do so she needs to endure. And survive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (The Mei scene is supposed to be a flashback...)


	2. Chapter 2

“Madara!” the White Zetsu shouts as he emerges from the walls of the underground cave. “The plan was a total failure! The girl survived and he managed to get away.”  

Madara is seated on his throne, as still as ever. He’s holding onto his scythe and has his head rested on it. There’s no answer from the man. 

“What if he tells Konoha about us?” the Zetsu insists.

“He won’t.” 

“But what if-”  

“He  _will_ come back to me.”  

The Zetsu hesitates. “...What if he doesn’t?”  

The old Uchiha slightly shifts on his throne. “Then another one will come.”

* * *

Obito and Kakashi are making their way towards Konoha, trying to shake off their pursuers.  _This is weird_ , Obito thinks to himself.  _Why are we still being followed?_   

Kakashi suddenly grabs at his cloak and points to his right. Obito’s eye widens when he sees the familiar figure of Minato dashing through the forest. 

“Sensei!” Kakashi yells out, making the older man stop dead on his tracks. 

Minato stands completely agape as he sees his dead student in front of him, but barely has any time to react when he notices them being pursued by Kiri Anbu. “Hold on!” he says as he quickly lunges forwards and grabs the two boys. Obito knows what’s going to happen next.  

When he was younger, Obito recalls how he would constantly pester Minato-sensei about teleporting him around the village using hisFlying Thunder God Technique. His sensei always said his jutsu didn’t work like that, but never said no, much to the younger boy’s delight. 

“This might sting a little,” Minato says with a forced smile. “Close your eyes.”  

Obito grits his teeth and, with a zip, he finds himself near the border of the village. Minato lets go of them and picks up the kunai he had previously prepared.  

Minato’s face is full of questions, but he knows now’s not the time. “Hurry up and go inside,” he says as he hands his signature kunai to Kakashi. “I’ll get back to you when I’m done. I need to get rid of them first.” 

“Are you going after them?” Obito asks and throws his hand in the air in frustration. “What about Rin? You can’t just leave her behind!” 

Minato quirks an eyebrow. “Rin?” he turns his gaze to Kakashi. “Why isn’t she with you in the first place? Your mission was to get her back, correct?” 

“She has been turned into the Three-Tails jinchiruki,” Kakashi blurts out. “You need to get to her before Kirigakure.” 

Minato drops his jaw. “She has been what?!” He presses a hand against his forehead and lets out a deep sigh. First his student dies under his command, now Rin has, supposedly, been turned into a jinchiruki? He stares at Kakashi and internally hopes nothing bad ever happens to him. “How did this happen?” 

“I don’t know the full details but the Kiri-nin who kidnapped her turned her into one,” Kakashi explains hurriedly. “She said she couldn’t get back to Konoha or else it would get out and destroy the village. So she decided to stay behind.” 

Minato grimaces. “Then I need to hurry,” he says as he takes one last sad glance at Obito. “Obito, I… I promise I’ll be quicker this time.” He readies another kunai, and Kakashi can hear him mumble, “what a great sensei I turned out to be,” under his breath as he teleports away. 

Kakashi then turns to his friend and places a hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright? We’ve been running for a while now. Do you need to rest?” 

“I’m fine,” Obito’s says as he catches his breath. “I’m just... worried. Rin is still out there. I feel awful leaving her behind like that.” 

“She can take care of herself,” Kakashi reassures him. He shifts his gaze to the entrance gates and gestures towards Obito to follow him, grabbing at his side to keep him steady. “We’re almost home.”

They slowly flutter to the entrance of the village when they spot two jounin on guard. Kakashi waves his free hand at them.

“They’re here!” one says, while, at the same time, the other shouts, “Open the gates!” as she knocks on the giant wooden doors. It slowly opens and a commotion is immediately heard on the other side. 

There are medical-nin, jounin and a few Anbu all rushing towards the two boys. They’re clearly shouting something but Obito isn’t listening anymore. All he can feel is Kakashi grabbing at his side and signalling something at the approaching shinobi.

Obito mentally prepares himself to set foot back in Konoha. _It’s been far too long_.

* * *

Mei reaches for the drawer next to her bed and removes her headband from within. She stares at it for a while, contemplating it.

Exactly five years have passed since her graduation. Exactly five years since her secret was revealed to the word - but so were her skills. Years followed by sleeplessness nights, waking up in the middle of the night drenched because of the nightmares. But she endures. Because she knows one day they'll be over.

She ties her headband around her forehead and pulls her bangs to the front. A new mission awaits her.

She leaves her apartment, and is immediately greeted by the Kiri she is most familiar with: decaying buildings, surrounded by decadent people. Those like her tend to stay hidden, to avoid being dragged out to war they’ll never return from.

Mei isn’t sure whether she’s lucky she hasn’t been scouted out yet or not – maybe this mission is just a ruse to get her away enough from the village. She’s used to the Hunter-nin keeping a close eye on her, to make sure she won’t try _anything_ with her abilities. Or so they like to claim.

After a long walk amidst the rocky path, she arrives at the upper district of Kiri, and is greeted by lavish houses and extravagant people. The large buildings are unlike those around her home, all neatly constructed, despite the dense vegetation covering them.

Mei moves further ahead and dares a glance to the side. She sees someone limping, right hand holding onto a broken sword and the other one clutching their chest with their kimono coated in red - just another day in Kiri.

She finally reaches her destination, the Mission Assignment Centre, located in an adjacent building next to the Academy. She walks up the stairs and enters. She makes her away across the room and is immediately met with cold stares and whispers from the people there. 

“Look, it’s the lava girl.” 

“I can’t believe she got this far.” 

“Did you know she has two bloodline limits? What a freak.” 

She ignores them and keeps walking, with her chin up and a smile on her lips.  

Her eyes dart around the room, looking for any of her teammates. She spots a smaller figure leaning against the wall and approaches him. “Yagura”, she greets him, bowing her head. He lifts an eyebrow. “Have you been chosen for this mission as well?”

“Seems so,” he says casually. “Very interesting that they chose _you_ as well.”

“I am more than capable of handling myself,” she says.

“Indeed you are.” Yagura places a hand on his chin, examining the students and jounin gathered around the desk. “I wonder what kind of mission we’ll have this time…” he ponders.

“We are currently in the middle of a war,” she says. “Perhaps we are to assist with the fighting?”

“Who knows,” he shrugs. “As long as I get to show my skills, I’m fine with anything.”

She doesn’t reply. She turns her head as she hears the door opening. An older jounin walks in, with four others following behind. Mei sees the jounin hurriedly exchanging words with each other, seemingly having a _very_ intense conversation. After they're done speaking, the four jounin disperse.

The older jounin begins approaching Mei and Yagura, examining them up and down. “I take it you know why you’re here,” he says quickly. “You have proven yourself as the best shinobi this Academy as to offer and are now going to be assigned with missions .”

Yagura perks up. “Finally.”

“Do we have a mission so soon?” Mei asks. “We just became chuunin, after all.”

“Yagura shoots her a look, then asks, “So, what's our mission?”

“You have been tasked with the retrieval of the Three-Tails and its jinchuuriki.” the jounin replies. Mei gasps.

“The Three-Tails?” Yagura jumps on his feet, his eyes beaming like a child.

Mei narrows her eyes at his reaction. She turns to the jounin and asks, “Are you certain we will be able to handle such a task?”

Yagura pouts. “Come on, don’t be such a downer. It’ll be fine,” he says. “Besides, even if things do go wrong, you can just spit lava or boil someone alive.”

She twitches at his words and the smile from her face slightly falters.

The jounin ignores their bickering and begins talking again. “The three of you are currently the best students this village has ever seen. We are low on manpower due to the outgoing war, so you will have to do for now,” he says, causing Mei to glance around the room.  _Three?_

As if on cue, the door to the room opens, and a taller figure leans in. He has a shark-like figure and pale-blue skin. He glances around the room and quickly approaches Mei when he notices her. “I apologize for being late. Have I missed something?”  

Yagura casually waves his hand. “Nothing at all, Kisame. We just started being briefed.” 

“Our mission is to capture the Three-Tails,” Mei explains. “Its jinchuuriki fled the village and their whereabouts are currently unknown. We have been assigned with the mission of recapturing them and bringing them back to Kirigakure.”  

Kisame tilts his head to the side. “It escaped?” he turns to face the jounin. “I assumed we had it under our control?”  

“As far as I remember,” Yagura begins, “The Three-Tails didn’t have a vessel. Until now, it seems.” He grins. “Maybe the next Mizukage can keep it under better control…” 

“How could someone could have taken it without anyone noticing is, indeed, very strange,” Mei says as she subtly glances towards their jounin, who seems to shift uncomfortably at their comment.

“Do we at least know where it was last seen?” Kisame asks. “That would certainly narrow down our search.” 

“From what I gathered,” the jounin begins. “Our Anbu were pursuing it and were headed towards the Konoha border. That was its last known location.” 

“Konoha?” Kisame asks. “Why that particular place?” 

“That is not important,” the jounin answers. “This is a very crucial mission. Kirigakure’s future depends on it,” he says. “Make sure you succeed on bringing the Beast back.” The jounin waves them dismissively and begins to turn away. “This should go without saying,” he says. “But the information you received is confidential. Retrieve the jinchuuriki and return. We'll handle the rest. And do not speak of this to anyone. It's a secret mission from the Mizukage himself.”

Mei clenches her jaw.  _She will make sure of that._  She inhales and clasps her hands. “Well then, I believe we should start our search near the Konoha border,” she says. “There might still be some clues left behind by this rogue jinchuuriki.”   

“Exactly what I was thinking!” Yagura chirps as he starts strutting towards the door. “Let’s catch the Three-Tails!” Mei sighs and heads after him, with Kisame following behind.  

* * *

The first thing Obito thinks when he wakes up is that it’s really bright. After being underground for so long he still wasn’t used to such luminous environments. 

He places a hand on his face to cover the light and begins to examine the room he finds himself in. There’s a faint smell of chemicals in the air. Oh, that’s right. They brought him to the hospital, he recalls.

He shifts on the bed and removes his sheets. He notices he’s wearing a hospital gown and that the right side of his face is covered in bandages. 

He also realizes the Zetsu that was enveloping him is gone. Maybe he fled? Or maybe the Medical-nin who took care of him took him away? Or maybe he was taken by the Hokage’s Anbu for studying?

He tilts his head right and sees the figure of Kakashi resting on a chair adjacent to his bed.

Obito slumps off the bed but loses his footing, causing a loud thud to echo through the room. Kakashi shifts on his seat and slowly opens his eyes. He yawns and says, “...Obito?”  

“H-Hey,” the Uchiha waves from the floor. Kakashi immediately jolts from his seat and gets to Obito. He helps him stand and gently places him back on the bed. He sits next to him and asks, “How are you feeling?”  

“Don’t worry about me,” Obito shakes his head. “More importantly, is Rin okay? Has Minato-sensei found her yet?”  

Kakashi rubs his forehead. “I don’t know, it’s only been a few hours. I’ve stayed here with you since you got back,” he says. “He probably already sent someone after her.”  

Obito sighs. He opens his mouth to speak when the doors suddenly slams open, causing him to flinch. He sees a terrifying figure walking out of the door, with glowing yellow eyes and wild hair floating in the air. “Obito!”   

“Kushina?!”  

The Uzumaki stomps over to the Uchiha and immediately pulls him into a very tight hug. “Obito,” she repeats, resting her head against his shoulder. “I thought you were gone,” she says sadly as he hesitantly returns the hug. She leans away from him and gives him a motherly scold. “Don’t you  _ever_  to this again, mister!”  

The door creaks open and a soft chuckle is heard. “We should let him rest, no?” Minato says as he enters the room. “He’s been through a lot after all.”  

Kushina stands up and takes a moment to examine Obito. He can see her recoil when she notices he is literally stitched together. She opens her mouth in shock but doesn’t say anything. 

“What happened?” Minato asks concerned as he walks towards Obito. “I know you must be very tired but... I need to understand how you’re still alive.”  

Obito nervously scratches the back of his head. “I... I don’t remember,” he lies. “All I know is that I thought I was crushed, and then I woke up in a dark place,” he says, not totally a lie this time.  

Minato is about to ask something else when Kushina interrupts him, “What happened after you survived those rocks?”  

Obito stammers. “Uh, I remember someone helping me, but-”  

“What did they look like?” Kushina asks with a perturbed look growing on her face. “Did you see them at all?” 

“Kushina...?” Minato seems taken aback by her question. “What are you-?”  

She ignores him. “Obito, this is very important,” she says as she grasps his shoulders and sits next to him. “Did you get a glimpse of their face? Did you recognize their voice?”  

“N-No?” he answers nervously. “They were completely covered. I couldn’t see their face at all.”  

“Were you in some sort of cave?” she insists. “Did you see anything on the walls?” 

He bites his lip.  _How does she know all of this?_  He gazes towards Minato, who’s still baffled at Kushina’s line of questioning – clearly Kushina knows something he doesn’t. 

Obito staggers when, to his relief, he sees the door opening again. “I’m very sorry, but visiting hours are over,” a med-nin says as she enters the room. “You must leave the patient be,” she approaches the visitors and starts shushing them away. “The boy needs to rest! Shoo!”  

“R-Right.” Minato says. He leans towards Obito and softly pats his shoulder. “I’ll be back soon.” he reassures him, then he turns back and walks away. Or rather, is pulled away.  

“Obito, see to it that you rest. If you need anything at all just shout or something,” Kushina says as she grabs Minato by the arm – who yelps - and leaves the room.  

Kakashi glances at the exasperated nurse and turns to Obito. “I’ll be back too. I’ll talk with Minato about Rin in the meantime.” Obito nods and wraps himself in the soft blankets.  _Soft_. Another word he hadn’t thought of in a long time.  

Kakashi walks out of the room, but not before shooting one last concerned look at Obito.   

* * *

Kakashi is slowly drifting through the Hospital corridors when he hears the voice of Kushina. 

“Minato, we need to talk,” he hears her say. He approaches the wall and carefully peers at the adjacent corridor. He sees her tugging at Minato’s jacket while he nods in response and points to the empty door behind them. Clearly, they wanted to discuss something in private.  

Kakashi knew better than to peek at his sensei and his girlfriend. But he knew this conversation was about his friend. And he couldn’t stay still when he still had so many questions about his survival.  

After they enter, Kakashi quickly reaches the door and crawls under the frame. He carefully lifts his head and peeks. Although he can’t see their faces, he can see their moving silhouettes.  

“I think I know how Obito survived,” Kushina says as she is pacing around the room, hands grasping her hair. “I mean, I know it sounds crazy but it’s the only possible explanation. Because how else could he be here, you know?” 

“Kushina, what are you talking about?” Minato asks as he brings a hand to his head. “You’re not making any sense.”

“I believe Orochimaru was the one who…” she cringes. “ _Rescued_ … Obito.”  

“Orochimaru!?”

“Shh!” she presses a finger to her lip. “I mean, look at his body. It’s the exact same material Orochimaru has on him.”  

“I don’t think that’s quite right...” Minato says.  

“I’ve been thinking about it and…” she pauses. “What if he did this to get to you?”  

Minato shakes his head, confused. “What do you mean by that?”  

“We both know there's talk about being considered as the next Hokage instead of him,” she says. “He spends most of his days hidden away, seemingly because he’s against this, but we both know that’s not the only reason,” she waves her hand around as if to make her point across. “His experiments? Obito’s body? It’s exactly like the ones who were found on his old laboratory.”  

“All the bodies that were found in the old lab had cracks all over them, and they looked like they were made out of paper,” he retorts. “Obito’s isn’t like that. Not to mention... there was never any evidence that pointed him as the culprit in the first place.”

“Because of You-Know-Who!” she huffs. “Then how do you explain the Hashirama cells on him? Orochimaru is the only one who has access to them! The man is obsessed with them! How do you explain that, you know?” 

Minato opens his mouth but doesn’t answer. He places a hand on his chin and deliberates for a moment. After some time, he says, “I think we need to have Obito under constant surveillance. I can stay here to watch over him and keep him safe.” 

“That sounds good. I’ll also ask Mikoto to look into it,” she says. ”I think it’s better if we don’t involve the Anbu for now.”

“Agreed.” Minato begins to walk towards the door, when another thought bursts into Kushina’s mind and she grabs his arm and turns him around. 

“What about Rin?” she asks with a sad voice. “Is it… true? Did they really take her with the intent of turning her into a jinchiruki? ” 

He looks sadly at the Uzumaki. “So it seems. I wasn’t able to find her,” he folds his arms. “I couldn’t find any traces of her presence at all.” 

Kushina clutches her stomach. “I can only imagine how she feels. She must be terrified… Why would they do something like that?” 

“Probably to get back at us because of the war,” he guesses. “They must have wanted to use her as a weapon against the village.”

“I hope she's okay... We need to find her quick.”

“We will. But for now,” he unfolds his arms takes Kushina’s hand. “We need to tend to Obito. We need to make sure he's okay.” 

Kushina nods. “First thing tomorrow morning.” 

They both start advancing towards the door as Kakashi quickly flees the scene, unnoticed.  

* * *

Rin blinks as she sees the day come to a close.

She’s in a land she’s never been in before, without any maps to guide her around. She has been following the water streaming down from the ravine, hoping it will lead her  _somewhere_. 

She doesn’t know what to do next, other than try to find someone who will take care of the tag placed on her. But how would she do that in the first place? To find someone would certainly take time. She didn’t have any resources. 

Maybe going on her own wasn’t such a good idea after all. 

She shakes her head.  _No._  If she stayed behind it would have been worse. The tag would go off and… She doesn’t even want to think about it. 

This was the only thing she could do now. She needed to find some shelter first. And… 

And food! Rin shifts and reaches for the pouch on her back. She puts it down and quickly rummages through it. She sighs with relief when she sees some food cans she had previously prepared still intact. 

She figures she could ration them until she found some help. As a medical-nin, she was taught to be ready for any kind situation, as such she was used to pack way more things than she actually needed. It was one the first things she was ever taught as a medical-nin. 

If only how to deal with being turned into a jinchuuriki was also taught at the Academy. 

And this tag on her heart? She’s terrified of it. Three question still remain on her head: How did she get it? Why was she turned into the Three-Tails jinchiruki? And why  _her_  of all people?  

She figured Kushina would know how to deal with the tag, being the skilful sealing kunoichi she is – not to mention the fact she was a jinchiruki herself.  _Kushina_ _…_  But Rin can’t get to Konoha, and Kushina can’t leave Konoha – the Council would never allow it, no matter the situation.  

She takes a deep breath and gets back on her feet. As she gets up she gazes down and is surprised to see corals forming where she was once seated. “Corals?” she asks herself as she picks one up and carefully examines it.   

She turns around to inspect the trail she left and flinches when she finds herself back in a familiar dark place, standing on top of a stagnant river in front of a temple. With the Three-tails right on her side.

“I can materialize corals. As  _my_  jinchuuriki it seems you also gained that ability.” The tailed-beast’s voice echoes through her mind.

She can’t help but to grimace at his sudden appearance. She takes a few steps back. “That… doesn’t seem useful at all…” she mutters under her breath and drops the coral on the water. 

“Humph. You never know.” The Three-Tails remarks, having apparently heard her.  _Whoops._  

She begins examining the creature again. He’s still laying down, this time with both eyes closed. She notes he has corals stuck to his paws (or claws?). It’s only been what, a few hours at most since they last talked? She wasn’t really keeping track of time. 

Rin fidgets hesitantly with her apron, before asking, “Did you… call me here?”  

“Maybe I did,” he replies. “Or maybe you got here yourself.”  

She sighs at the answer. Not that she was complaining about his aloof demeanour. Rather uncaring than trying to kill her. Even if she still doesn’t sense any malice from the Tailed-beast.  

“Have you thought about getting rid of that tag?” 

“I’m… working on it.” 

“You should hurry, you know.” he says absently, not moving an inch. “You know what will happen if you linger…” 

“I know. You said that last time I was here,” she says. “But where exactly  _is_ here?”  

“You’re inside my mindscape,” he answers. “As long I am sealed into you, this is the only place I can be at.” 

“As long as you’re sealed into me…” she echoes. “I still don’t know why that happened though… What could they possibly gain with that?”

“There is a war going on, correct? I assume I was sealed into you to be used as a weapon,” the beast remarks. “You humans shackle us to prevent us from destroying, but you are the ones who are in constant conflict with one another.”

She doesn’t know how to respond to the Beast’s remarks, true as they were. She keeps fidgeting with her apron. “R-Right,” is all she can say.

The beast hums absently.

“I’ll figure this out,” she says. “I’ll find a way to get this thing off me.”

“Then go.” 

She is about to close her eyes to try and focus on leaving the Three-tails psyche when another thought crosses her mind and she turns to face the creature. “One more thing.”  

Still with his eyes closed, the Three-tails shifts. “What is it?”  

“What is your name?”  

The beast seems taken aback by her question as it opens one of its eyes. “My name, you say?”  

“Yes. You must have one, no?” she asks. “Everyone has one. I assume you’re no different.”  

“I do...” he says as he stands up. “Why do you want to know?” 

“If we’re both going to deal with this it’d only be fair, right?” she says as she notices the Tailed Beast getting closer to her. “My name is Rin,” she says. “What is yours?”  

The giant turtle looks like he’s deliberating. He is quiet for a long time, and Rin thinks he’ll just sent her away like last time, but he says, “...Isobu.”  

“Well, Isobu… I’m going to get rid of this tag,” she clasps her hands. “And I need your help to do it.”  

Isobu seems interested in her attitude and sits in front of her. “How so?”  

“I believe I’m still being targeted by Kiri-nin. I can’t risk losing control and let you get loose. It would be bad for both of us.”  

“How can you be sure I will be of any help to you? I may just let you lose control and set myself free…” Isobu remarks, rather cheerfully.  

“If you do that you’ll still have to deal with my tag,” she says as she points to her chest. “You’d still be bound to me, regardless. Do you want to die?”  

Isobu lets out a dry laugh, and although Rin can’t see any lips or mouth on the giant turtle, she can tell he is smirking. “Very well. But I assure you, having control of a Tailed-Beast is not an easy task. Many have died before when attempting such a feat,” he pauses again, before asking, “Are you sure you’re up to the task?”  

She pumps her firsts, determined. “I am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~The adventures of sharkboy and lavagirl, starting yagura karatachi~~
> 
>  
> 
> They're all the same age so why not have them on a team together? And considering Yagura was being controlled by Obito during his bloody reign as the 4th, and then, when we *do* see him, he is actually pretty diplomatic and playful, I figure he'd be kind of a little shit as a kid (and also bc of another reason I'm saving up for later...).
> 
> Also, Isobu is actually quite shy? He refers to himself as 'boku' even though he's like 10000 years old. And Yagura was able to have a perfect jinchuuriki status with him so we'll see what happens with Rin...


	3. Chapter 3

Obito doesn’t feel tired anymore. In fact, he doesn’t feel anything anymore. He no longer feels hungry or thirsty or sleepy and he absolutely hates it. He hates what Madara did to him, to his body.

But he’s also thankful. Because if it wasn’t for Madara, he _would_ be dead.

Obito is laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling absentmindedly when a voice suddenly calls out to him, causing him to frown. “Obito!”

Obito whips his head to see the Swirly Zetsu emerge from the floor. He rolls his eyes. “Go away. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore.”

“Oh, that’s mean. After all the time we spent together? I thought we were friends!” The Swirly Zetsu says, and if it had a face, it would certainly frown. Obito doesn’t answer, and his eye darts back to the ceiling.“Don’t you want to know what happened to Rin?”

“Shut up,” Obito says coldly. He knows what the Zetsu is trying to do and won’t fall for it. He changes positions and turns his head away from the Zetsu. “Just go away already.”

“I’m just trying to help you, Obito,” the Zetsu insists. “Why haven’t they find her yet? Are you sure they’re even trying at all?”

Obito shifts on the bed and glares down at him. “What do you mean?”

“Think about it, Obito! She’s currently a liability. It’d be easier just to kill her, so the beast would die with her.”

Obito stands up. “They would never do that! Minato would never allow something like that to happen!” He says through gritted teeth clenches his fists. “Rin is _fine_. You just want me to go back to Madara.”

The Swirly Zetsu tilts his head. “Then where is she? Why haven’t they told you anything yet? Seems to me like they’re leaving you in the dark on purpose…”

Obito groans but quickly sits back on the bed when he hears the sound of someone knocking on the door. “Obito? May I come in?” Kushina asks.

Obito gazes back at the ground and notices the Swirly Zetsu is no longer there. _Better this way_ , he thinks. “Sure, the door is open.” He figures it's morning already, since Kushina is already there with him.

She opens the door and scurries towards him. Obito notices she’s holding onto a small bag which she places on the floor next to his bed. She gives him a big hug and asks, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” he replies, rubbing at his scarred cheek.

“Where you talking to someone just now?”

“Uh, I talk to myself a lot…” he gives her a wry smile.

“Right…” Kushina says as she sits on the bed next to him.

“How long have I been away?” Obito asks. Time was still blurry after staying in an underground cave for so long. Neither Madara nor the Zetsus would tell him the time. Not that he ever asked, anyway.

“A few months. Almost a year now.”

Obito fidgets uncomfortably with the bed covers. “Have you heard anything from Granny? Is she okay?”

Kushina swallows and her face turns grim. He can guess what comes next judging by her expression. “I’m sorry, Obito, but she passed away. When she heard you were crushed her heart couldn’t handle it,” she wraps her arms around his shoulders and closes her eyes.“I’m sorry.”

“I suspected as much,” he gazes away from her and sighs. He rubs his eye as tears begin to stream down his face. “What will happen to me now? I assume I can’t go back home. I don’t even know if anyone else knows about the fact I survived.”

“Your survival is not a secret anymore, for shinobi at least – you _did_ arrive through the front door,” she explains. “I spoke with Mikoto and she told me she could take you in. She said she would come by later to talk to you.”

Obito gapes at her comment. “Mikoto, as in, the clan head’s wife? You want me to stay with Fugaku of all people?” he huffs and crosses his arms, still not gazing at the Uzumaki. “I doubt he’d want that.”

Kushina winks and places a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Mikoto said it was okay. And you know how she is when she’s dead set on something,” she says. “Besides, I doubt she’d let a kid be on their own, especially after having something like _that_ happen to them.”

He chuckles and shyly looks back at her. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Even Fugaku knows better than to make her angry...”

Kushina runs a hand through his now long and spiky hair. “I think you need a haircut.”

“I like it. I think it looks cool,” he answers. “Too bad I lost my goggles.”

“Actually...” Kushina shifts and reaches over the bag she had previously placed next to the bed and starts shuffling through it. Obito blinks as she displays his trademark goggles and hands them over to him. “Minato managed to get them from the rubble. They were mostly intact,” she says.

Obito carefully examines the goggles, which are now full of scratches, with the lens surprisingly intact. He attempts to put them on but taps at his bandages instead. “But it’s not like I can use them with just one eye,” he says out loud.

Kushina fidgets uncomfortably at his comment. “Um, what if I buy you a cool new eye patch?”

Obito cheerfully nods and places his goggles next to him. He glances at the door and asks, “By the way, where’s Kakashi? He said he would be here.”

“He went on a mission with Minato. The Hokage sent them and a couple of other jounin to the last place he saw Rin in the hopes of finding her.”

Obito flinches at her reply. “I see…” he folds his legs against his chest and buries his head on his knees. He mumbles, “I should be there with them.”

His comment seems to prompt something on Kushina, as her expression turns grim and she stares at Obito for a few moments. She bites her lip and says, “Not yet. Not until you have a full recovery and we can figure this out.”

Obito looks like he’s on the verge of speaking, but he remains silent as Kushina keeps staring at him with worried eyes. Then, after a few moments, he asks, “Kushina… Is something wrong?”

Kushina feels her throat tighten and swallows. “Obito, I think I know who-”

The door slams opens and Kushina startles, snapping her head to the sudden noise. Two Anbu walk in, followed by an older man with the right side of his face covered in bandages, the latter holding onto a cane. They slowly make their way towards the middle of the room.

Kushina gets up from the bed and immediately steps in front of the Uchiha, raising her arms defensively. “ _Lord_ Danzou,” she says through gritted teeth.“What brings _you_ here?”

“Kushina,” he says in a very monotone voice, ignoring her dissatisfaction with his presence. “I would like to speak with the boy.”

“Obito is in no condition to speak with anyone,” she tells him boldly. “Please leave. He needs to rest.”

The two Anbu guarding Danzou immediately stand in a defensive position in front of him and draw their weapons, but the older man gestures vaguely with his free hand. They both nod and then disappear with a puff of smoke. “I only wish to speak to him. It won’t take long and you may stay, if you wish.”

Kushina whips her head back to Obito, who gives her a _what the heck is going on_ look. “Fine.” She stomps back to his bed and places her hands on his shoulders. “But I’m staying here.”

“That is fine.” Danzou turns to Obito, who has a troubled look on his face. “You’re not in trouble. I only wish to speak to you. As I said before,” he glances at Kushina, who’s still eyeing him suspiciously. He turns back at Obito. “There were reports of your death following a cave-in in Iwagakure, but here you are. Back in Konoha,” he says. “I only wish to make sense of it.”

Obito stiffens as he feels Kushina’s grip on him tighten. “I don’t… I don’t remember,” he stammers. “It was as you said. There was a cave-in and I was crushed. I died, but then I didn’t…”

Danzou places a contemplative hand on his chin. He turns his gaze back to Kushina and says, “There’s also the matter with the Nohara child,” he subtly glances at Obito, who shifts uncomfortably at the mention of her name. “I understand she is unable to return to Konoha due to being turned into a human weapon. It is imperative we find her quickly before-”

 _Weapon_. Kushina resists the urge to pick him up and throw him across Konohagakure. She gets up and tightens her jaw. She knows she’s stepping out of line but doesn’t care. “Lord Danzou, I think this is enough. I don’t know what your plan is, but Obito needs time to himself. If you have nothing better to say then please go away.”

He eyes her carefully, his expression still indecipherable. He takes a moment before saying, “Very well.” With that, he turns around and begins walking towards the door but then stops on his tracks. Without looking back, he says, “We shall talk later, young Uchiha.” And he leaves.

As soon as the door closes,Kushina sticks out her tongue and raises her fists. She turns to Obito and says, “Don’t let this guy get to you.”

“This guy is Danzou, Kushina. You know. Danzou?” he remarks, rather amused at her outburst. “He’ll probably lock you away in a prison cell or something.”

She runs a hand through his hair and smiles. “I don’t care. I’m not scared of him,” her face grows concerned and she gazes away from him to the ceiling. “Or anyone else.”

“What do you mean?” he asks. “And before, you said you knew something about... someone?”

“I-” Kushina presses a hand against her mouth and stays quiet for a moment. Obito stares at her, confused, and opens his mouth to speak again when she says, “I think it’s best if you don’t know. For your own safety.”

Obito pales _. Surely she can’t know about Madara?_ “What do you mean ‘my own safety’? Is someone after me?”

Kushina sighs and gazes back to Obito. “I’m still not sure about that, but...” she trails off, staring at him intently. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

* * *

As she leaps among the trees in the misty forest on the outskirts of the Land of Water, Mei can’t help but to smirk at the thought of capturing the jinchuuriki.

She knows it’s a distant prospect, but Mei is sure she can change Kirigakure once she returns with the Beast. She knows they’d never listen to anyone like her – one who has not one, but _two_ bloodline limits. She hopes it’s enough to change how those like her are viewed.

“The sooner we catch this person the better,” Yagura says as he jumps from branch to branch behind her. “One step closer on becoming Mizukage.” Mei can almost feel the grin forming on his face.

“You seem quite keen on becoming the next Mizukage,” Kisame remarks, following after him. “May I ask why?”

“Are you that eager for power, Yagura?” Mei asks.

“It’s not that, Mei,” he answers. “Kirigakure can’t stay the same and you both know it.”

“You think Kirigakure will change after we return with the Tailed-Beast?” Kisame asks. “Not to mention, you are still too young to become Mizukage. We are not even jounin yet.”

Yagura sighs. “After we catch this jinchuuriki and deal with them, I’ll seal the beast into myself.”

Both Mei and Kisame immediately stop on their tracks on a tree branch, causing Yagura to almost bump into them.

“You want to become the Three-Tails jinchuuriki?!” Kisame gawks at him. “Why would you want to become a living vessel? You would be bound to the village and be used as a human weapon. You could never become the Mizukage by doing something like that!”

Yagura shakes his head at his reply. “Think about it. A Kage jinchuuriki would be unstoppable. No other hidden village would even dare to start a war with us,” he answers. “Kirigakure would no longer need to rely on anyone ever again. Besides,” he grins. “It’s not like they could stop me once I have the Three-Tails sealed into me.”

Kisame’s voice grows concerned. “How would you even get it sealed into you?” he turns his head to Mei and gives her a meaningful look. “And do you really expect the rest of us to follow with your plan?”

Yagura begins leaping through the trees again, seemingly unconcerned with Kisame’s words. “It’s the best choice possible. Would you really trust any of the adults or the elders to deal with the Three-Tails? It hasn’t had a vessel for years and if it gets free, it would destroy everything in a fit of rage, starting with Kirigakure.” Yagura whips his head to Kisame. “Is that really what you want?”

Kisame doesn’t answer, instead letting out a heavy sigh. He begins following Yagura, with Mei behind him. 

Mei can’t help but to wince at Yagura’s words. True, he wishes to change Kirigakure as much as she wants, but she knew how his… ideals were. The Kiri Mei wants is peaceful and diplomatic, while his is ruthless and revengeful. She even asked herself if Yagura would ever change how the Academy worked.

“Besides,” Yagura says in a much more serious tone  tothe others behind him. “It’s not like I have any say in the matter, right?”

Mei blinks. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not stupid,” he replies. “I’ve heard the talks and the whispers. They wanted to turn me into the vessel for the Three-Tails ever since I was a child,” he pauses for a moment, before continuing. “Or wanted to, I guess.”

“We had no way of knowing about that,” Kisame says.

“Yeah, yeah. I'm sure.” He says, dismissively. Then he quirks an eyebrow. “So… “I heard Mei wants to become the next Mizukage too…” Yagura muses cheekily. “That would be new, having a Mizukage with a bloodline limit. Well, two.” Mei rolls her eyes at his comment but before she can say anything, Yagura quickly adds, “I would support you, you know.”

Mei stares at him open-mouthed for a moment, then gazes at the ground. She remains silent.

“Of course _I’ll_ be the next Mizukage since I’m the strongest in the village but I’d be happy to have you as my advisor. Maybe that would change some... traditional minds.”

Mei opens her mouth to respond when Kisame suddenly shouts, “look over there!” and points at a curious trail in the grassy path.

Mei stops on her tracks, almost bumping into Yagura in the process. Yagura surveys the path bellow, then drops onto where Kisame pointed but quickly regrets his decision. “Yuck!” he exclaims as he tries to get rid of something that is stuck on his feet. “Gross! Gross!” the smaller boy keeps repeating as he shakes his boots.

Kisame sighs. “This is what I was talking about,” he drops down and approaches Yagura, then takes a sample from the ground. “Coral? Interesting.” Kisame remarks but quickly hisses when the coral burns his hand, causing him to drop it on the ground. He turns to Mei and says, “It burns your skin, be careful not to touch it.”

Mei’s eyes widen. “Coral? This means the jinchuuriki can’t be too far,” she says. “We just need to follow this trail.”

“Buuut,” says Yagura as he tries to shake off the coral from his boot without touching it. “Look over there,” he points at the grassy wet floor, where the trail abruptly stops. “There’s no more left.”

“It seems our jinchuuriki is brighter than we thought,” Mei remarks. “This is clearly a trap.”

“That much is obvious, yes.” Kisame nods and brings a hand to his chin. He deliberates for a moment before saying, “I say we separate. That way we can cover more ground and waste less time in case it turns out to be a fluke.”

“Why are we wasting our time here, then?” Yagura says and begins to turn away from them when Kisame grabs him by the arm.

“Hold on. We need to decide what to do if one of us finds the jinchuuriki first.” Kisame says as lets go of his hold of Yagura. “Although a jinchuuriki’s chakra is special on its own, I have not sensed anything yet. None of us are sensors, so there is no way of knowing whether they still remain in the area or not.”

“Perhaps they are concealing it,” Mei adds. “If they are smart they will stay behind. I doubt they have a stable seal. I assume whoever sealed the Beast into them was kind enough to stabilize it.”

“That would certainly help…” Yagura mumbles under his breath.

“I will head north, near the sea,” Kisame says. He turns to Yagura and addresses him. “Yagura, you go south, near the Konoha border,” he then turns to Mei. “Mei, you can follow the path straight ahead,” Kisame taps the kunai holster on his leg and then says, “Once you find the jinchuuriki make you signal each other by throwing an explosive tag.”

Yagura nods eagerly. “Sure thing.”

Kisame reaches for the sword strapped on his back and turns to the other two Kiri-nin. “We were not told whether this jinchuuriki is an experienced fighter or not. We should prepare for the worst, but make sure you bring them alive in case one of you gets to them first.”

“That’s obvious,” Yagura remarks. “It’s no good if the Beast is killed now.”

“Then let us hurry.” Mei says.

With that, they disperse.

* * *

Rin hasn’t eaten anything since she stayed behind and her stomach is rumbling. She completely lost track of time and the dark sky isn’t helping. It was hard enough to navigate through the dark forest with the thick fog surrounding her.

_“You should find a place to rest for a while, Rin. Humans don’t take kind to exhaustion.”_

She was also not used to having a Tailed-Beast talking to her through telepathy, but she had to make due given her circumstances.

She cringes when she sees a cave a few meters from her position. Too many bad memories. Surely, there must be another place nearby that could be used as a shelter…?

_“What are you waiting for? Go in already.”_

She sighs and wearily enters the cave. The water dripping from the stalactites hanging above are forming a small puddle near the entrance. Rin carefully walks around it, feeling that her sandals are wet enough simply from walking on damp grass.

_“I like it.”_

Once far away enough from the entrance, she gets down and places one of her pouches on the hard ground. She reaches for it and takes one piece of bread. She breaks into small pieces and quickly chows them down.

_“You’re lucky no one has found you yet.”_

She takes another bite of her bread, and then asks, “What do you mean?”

_“Your chakra has been leaking ever since you’ve become my jinchuuriki. You haven’t even bothered to turn it off.”_

She almost chokes on the small piece of bread on her mouth. Her chakra! How could she have forgotten such a thing? It was basic knowledge to conceal your chakra when you stepped into enemy territory. “It’s leaking? For how long?”

_“It’s not anymore, thanks to me.”_

“You stopped it?”

_“Obviously, I couldn’t risk being found. For now just focus on resting your tiny human head.”_

Rest…

Rin picks up her pouch and starts walking towards one of the stone walls. She places her pouch on the floor and then lays her head on top of it, using it as a makeshift pillow.

Rin resists the urge to cry again as she stares at the dripping stalactites. She was so far away from home, from her mothers, from Kakashi, Minato and Kushina. She misses her training with Minato and Kakashi and how Kushina would coo and rub her cheeks every time she saw Rin.

And Obito... She doesn’t even want to think about him. Not when it was her fault he died in the first place. It’s too painful.

Rin also misses healing. She thinks back to when she was stationed at the Konoha Hospital as an intern. She recalls when the other medic trainee would always give her a fond smile every day and gossip about how the Princess would waste all of her money in gambling. Rin remembers how heartbroken she was when the other girl left on a journey with the woman in question.

 _“Interesting_ , _”_ she hears Isobu remark in her mind. She blushes wildly and shakes her head as if trying to send these thoughts away.

She also had time to consider some other things.

How were the Nohara reacting to her disappearance? They were one of the smallest clans in all of Konoha – even smaller than the Kurama. Had they been informed? Were her parents told? Knowing her moms, they must have stormed the Hokage office and made a mess of the place demanding answers by now.

She was officially on a mission when she was kidnapped by Kiri, so she figures the village considered her as M.I.A – but surely Kakashi had informed the Hokage already. Most likely they already sent search teams after her. Then again, she hopes they don’t find her, because if they do…

Her chest aches when remembers she can’t go back until she can get this tag removed from her heart. She needs to find someone who can take it out. Her best guess would be Kushina, a sealing jounin renowned throughout entire shinobi nations, but she couldn’t leave Konoha – and Rin couldn’t go in - so she was out of the question.

_“Just go to sleep already. I need to teach you how to properly control my chakra so your already-unstable seal doesn’t break.”_

Isobu is not what she was expecting either. She remembers what Kushina told her about the Nine-Tails, how he would try and claw her every time she dared to face him in their shared mindscape. The giant shelled turtle is certainly not like that, there’s even a childlike feel to him.

Rin finds herself back at the stagnant pond, and the scenery is different this time. It’s not as dark as it was on her previous visits and the wooden temple is painted orange. Isobu is still lazily seating on his paws, one of his eyes still closed. “Back so soon? I thought I told you to sleep.”

Rin advances slowly towards him. “I wanted to talk to you first.”

“About what?”

“When we read about Tailed-Beasts we learn they’re vicious and that they only wish to destroy everyone and everything around them,” she eyes him carefully. “But you’re different.”

He blinks. “How different?”

“You’re… nice.”

He lets out a small chuckle. “Would you say everyone who isn’t constantly trying to kill you is ‘nice’?”

Rin pouts and hugs one of her arms, saying, “That’s not what I meant…”

“I lived for more than a thousand centuries. The only destruction I’ve seen was caused by humans such as yourself. This war is proof of your greed,” he says. “We are vicious because we are forced to be and we destroy because we wish to be free.”

“Point taken,” she says sheepishly. “I’m just surprised you haven’t tried to devour me yet.”

He goes quiet for a moment. Then, “You should rest. You’ll need to learn how to control my chakra if you want to survive.” _Until your time is up and you can no longer control your thoughts._ She flinches at the implication.

Isobu raises a claw and Rin finds herself back at the cave, laying down and staring at the ceiling. She shifts on her position, trying to ignore the cold rock pressing against her back. She closes her eyes and quickly falls asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rin has two moms, it's true. I called Kishimoto and he told me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a big one.  
> Also, sorry if things seem somewhat abrupt, but there's a lot to cover on this fic.
> 
> 09/06/19 edit: This fic is not dead!! Back in December when I uploaded this chapter I was losing interest in naruto and so I had other interests, but now I'm back on my Naruto bullshit again, it seems! So I'm already working on the next chapter!

Kakashi really hopes Rin found a safe place to hide until he gets back to her.

The thought of leaving her alone with _that_ sealed into her has been drifting on his mind ever since he returned to the village with Obito. His thoughts were obviously shared by Minato, who tried to gather a search party to go back and look for her. But Rin’s situation was still a secret, and most jounin were busy with the war efforts, so in the end, Minato could only bring a couple of jounin with him back to where he left her.

Kakashi leads the small group along the same trail he'd taken that first time, the long and soggy path leading to that familiar clearing. There are still sights of the bloody battle that took place just a few days ago, as there are cracks on the rocks and smears of blood on the ground. No bodies, though.

And Rin is nowhere to be seen. Which, despite being a terrifying thought, does makes sense, considering it’s been a few days -she couldn’t risk staying out here in the open, she must have found a nearby place to hide. Kakashi opens his mouth to comment on this when Kuromaru beats him to it, saying, “Hey, kid, wasn’t she supposed to be here waiting for us?”

“Something must have happened,” Kakashi replies. He comes to a stop near the scene and gestures towards the rest of the group. “This is where I left her,” he says, pointedly not making eye contact with the jounin next to him. He doesn’t need to guess who she is, judging by the purple clan markings on both sides of her cheeks.

He had never met Akina personally, only heard of her from Rin. He knew she was a jounin and that her wife came from a civilian family, much like his sensei. He knows that Akina and Obito’s parents were good friends, hence why Rin an Obito were always so close since childhood.

“And also where Obito Uchiha was found as well,” Akina adds, her eyes darting intently at her surroundings.

Kakashi nods as he fidgets uncomfortably with his headband. “That’s right,” he says, straightening his shoulders. “This is where Rin told me she had a Tailed-Beast sealed into her.”

Tsume begins examining the scene, wrinkling her nose due to the strong scent of blood that still lingers in the air. “What even happened here?” she glances down at Kakashi. “Did you this?”

He shakes his head. “Obito did. I was so distraught I didn’t even realize what was happening at the time.”

Kuromaru starts scratching at the ground with his paws. “Must have been quite the fight. I can smell at least twenty people.”

“But that’s not why we’re here now.” Minato says. “About the Beast sealed into Rin,” he frowns. “We can safely assume it’s the Three-Tails, since all of our reports state the Six-Tails already has a jinchuuriki.” He brings a hand to his chin. “Although the Three-Tails has been in the wild for a really long time now. How did they manage to seal it without anyone noticing?”

Tsume moves to stand next to Minato. “They must have been really desperate.”

“Or stupid.” Kuromaru adds.

Minato bites his lip. “But why would they be desperate? Kiri has been mostly neutral during this conflict. Why would they risk a war on their doorstep?”

“And why Rin? Why did it have to be my daughter?” Akina asks, running her hands through her hair anxiously. The others stare at her and, after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Minato moves closer to her. He hesitantly places a hand on the woman's shoulder in an attempt at comforting her.

“Honestly,” he says softly. “I think it could have been anyone. They needed an edge and decided that turning a child into a jinchuuriki would be their best weapon.”

“Maybe they thought she was a civilian?” Kakashi suggests, not entirely sure about his own theory. Wouldn’t be the first time civilians were caught in the crossfire between villages, nor the last. “She happened to be on a mission near the Water border when they took her.”

“Civilians don’t wear headbands,” Tsume is quick to retort. “And it makes no sense to have a civilian –or an outsider– as a jinchuuriki. You want someone who won’t betray you.”

Kakashi shifts uncomfortably. “She said the Beast would be loose the moment she set foot on Konoha and...” he cuts himself off, averting his gaze from the jounin. He goes silent for a moment before saying, “I should have stayed. She shouldn’t be facing this alone.”

“If you had stayed with her we wouldn’t have a way of knowing about her… situation,” Minato says with a grim. “It was for the best, no matter how dour this sounds.”

Still, Kakashi thinks, he could have stayed. He could have let Obito go alone with Minato back to Konoha while he stayed behind, to make sure she was safe. He has no idea where she is, if she’s still hiding or-

“Don’t blame yourself.”

Kakashi suddenly jerks as he feels a hand on his shoulder and twirls around to face whoever did it. Akina gives him a tender smile, which only makes him feel guiltier about leaving Rin behind. “Rin is a smart girl, she will get through this,” The Nohara’s eyes dart to the clearing ahead, her smile slowly faltering. “She knew what would happen if she got back. As much as it pains me to say this, she should stay away from the village in the meantime.”

 _Until I can figure this out,_ Rin’s voice echoes in his head. He crosses his arms. “I know. But still, who knows how long that will take.” He glances away from Akina’s gaze, who has a pained expression.

Tsume chimes in. “Do people even know what happened to her?”

“The fact that Rin has been turned into a jinchuuriki is still not common knowledge,” Minato explains. “Only the Council, the Hokage, and some of the clan heads know,” he glances at Kakashi. “Beside us, of course. Officially, she’s still on a mission. This needs to remain a secret.”

Tsume hums and crosses her arms. “That’s to be expected,” she says. “If word got out that one of our own got turned into a foreign jinchuuriki, panic would spread. We couldn’t afford it, especially in the middle of a war.”

“Haruko doesn’t know either,” Akina says. “And I honestly don’t have the heart to tell her.”

“This needs to stay secret,” Minato reiterates. “Kiri is surely after her, but I haven’t seen any Hunter-nin or Anbu nearby,” he bites his lip. “I hope they haven’t found her yet.”

His words cause Kakashi to flinch, and he curls his fists. “But how are we supposed to find her in the first place?” he asks. He turns to face Tsume and Kuromaru. “You’re both wanted at the frontlines, so you can’t go to Kiri and track her. So why…?”

“Actually,” Minato turns to Kakashi, who stares in surprise. “That’s why I brought you.”

“Me? Why would…” a flash of realization suddenly moves across his face. “Oh, of course,” he says. Not wasting any time, Kakashi reaches for the holster strapped to his leg and withdraws a kunai. He quickly pricks one of his fingers and slams both of his hand on the ground. A cloud of smoke puffs out around it and he takes a few steps back. As the cloud of smoke slowly dissipates, the figure of a small and chubby pug appears.

With a voice that is too gruff for such a small body, the dog says, “Need me for anything?”

Kuromaru glares at Pakkun with a look of competition in his eyes. “We’re sending _him_? He’s just a pup, there’s no way he’ll find her.”

“It’s our best option,” Minato says. “A small pug will not attract too much attention. Just,” he sighs and whips his head down to face said pup. “Just make sure you don’t blow your cover by talking, alright?”

Pakkun waggles his tail. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Akina approaches the small dog and kneels down. “You need something to track her, right?” She reaches for one of the pockets on her vest and removes a small red bracelet from within. “You can use this. Rin gave it to me before she left for the mission.” She grasps the bracelet firmly before extending her hand.

Pakkun nods, saying, “Got it,” as he grabs the bracelet with his paw and begins sniffing it.

“Hold on,” Kakashi says. “You can’t wear that. You need to appear like you’re a stray.” He moves closer to Pakkun to remove the blue vest and headband he is currently wearing. After removing it, he asks, “Are you sure you can you find her from here?”

Pakkun seems deep in thought for a moment, sniffing the air around him for any traces of Rin. “I can feel her chakra and… something more. Like it’s being enhanced.”

Minato and Kakashi trade uneasy looks. Minato swallows, then asks, “Does she seem in control of it?”

Pakkun pauses before answering. “It’s hard to say. It’s like there’s... chakra embracing her chakra.”

“That’s one way of putting it.” Kuromaru barks. He faces away from Pakkun and turns towards Minato. “I can’t say whether or not she is in control of it, but I know her scent abruptly stops after a while.”

Kakashi stiffens. “I hope that doesn’t mean-”

“No.” Minato interrupts. “We would know by know if a Tailed-Beast was running in the wild. Especially after being forcefully sealed into someone. Perhaps she managed to... come to an understanding with it?”

Kuromaru says, “I don’t think Beasts work like that.”

“For her to be in control after just a few days would be… unheard of,” Akina comments. “Not even the Eight-Tails jinchuuriki was able to master it on such short notice,” she glances to Minato. “Not even Kushina is in full control of the Nine-Tails after so many years.”

Minato rubs the back of his head. “That’s, uh, a complicated matter…”

“Still, it was a really stupid move on Kiri’s part,” Kuromaru cuts in. “Why risk losing your Tailed-Beast by having it sealed into a foreign ninja who most likely could blow up at any minute?”

“There’s a reason why Konoha only has one Beast,” Tsume says, crossing her arms. “The Nine-Tails would be enough to destroy a whole continent. That’s why the Council keeps Kushina locked away in the village.” She waves a hand vaguely. “Even if they tried to attack us using the Three-Tails, we could easily repel it.”

Akina’s face turns grim, obviously uncomfortable with the tone of their conversation. Minato opts to clear his throat. “Well,” he says, quickly ending the banter. He then turns to Pakkun. “If you do manage to find her, report back immediately.”

Kakashi adds, “When you find Rin stay with her. I’m not losing another teammate.”

“Will do.” Pakkun says with a gruff voice, and promptly takes off running, his paws pit-a-patting against the wet path.

Kakashi clenches his fists as he sees his ninken run off into Water territory, his mind racing over the possibilities of what _might_ have happened to Rin. Minato approaches him and softly pats his back. He turns his head to face the other jounin and says, “Let’s head back. We still need to report this to the Hokage.”

The others nod and prepare to take off. Tsume and Kuromaru get on all fours, then dash away. Akina gives one last worried glance at her surroundings before following suit. As Minato prepares to leave, Kakashi tugs at his sleeve. “Sensei, may I talk to you?”

Minato tilts his head slightly. “Is something wrong?” he asks, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll find her in no time.”

“It’s about Obito, actually,” Kakashi says, and Minato raises an eyebrow. Kakashi glances at the others, making sure they are far away enough, then asks, “Do you think Orochimaru is responsible for what happened to him?”

Minato blinks in surprise. “Where did you get that idea?”

Kakashi shifts slightly and stares at his feet, remembering that this was information he most likely wasn’t supposed to hear. “I, uh, I happened to hear you and Kushina talking about it at the hospital…”

Minato sighs and runs a hand through his face. “I see.” He hums and crosses his arms. “Well, Kushina seems sure of it, but I have my doubts.”

Kakashi glances away, but says, “His right side was completely replaced with material that turned out to belong to the First Hokage. Orochimaru’s research was based mostly on Hashirama’s DNA.” He then gazes back at his sensei. “Isn’t that right?”

Minato stares at his student openmouthed. Then, “Come on, let’s go back to Konoha.”

* * *

 Rin wakes up with water dripping onto her forehead.

She yawns, stretches, and then quickly reaches for the pouch under her head she was using as a pillow. She tries not to think of the nightmare she had, of transforming into a giant monster right in the middle of Konoha and devastating it completely.

She rummages through it and removes the last scraps of bread she managed to ration so far. After eating it, she gets up and prepares to leave. Rin knows she can’t stay on the same place for long, as there’s always the chance of someone finding her, especially since Isobu said she was leaking chakra.

At least that’s what she tells herself.

As she heads outside and feels a chilly breeze across her face, Rin ponders what _exactly_ she is going to do about all of… this. She can’t risk going back, not when there’s _something_ telling to let the beast loose and to wreak havoc.

She shoves those thoughts aside as she shakes her head and presses a hand against her stomach.

First things first. Where would she even go?

She knows enough about the Land of Water’s geography to know it’s surrounded by islands and mountains. Mountains meant to confuse enemies and outsiders, surrounded by a constant thick fog that is enough to make anyone dizzy – a perfect target to strike unnoticed.

She was lucky she hadn’t run into any enemies yet – which… made sense, considering the war lately had only been focused between Iwa and Konoha.

So it made no sense to Rin why Kiri wanted to have an edge now, especially when there were ongoing talks between Kiri and Suna. It made Rin even more confused as to why they made her into a jinchuuriki.

She’s not worried about _him_ , though, not anymore. It’s the supposed tag on her heart that concerns her. How is she even going to remove it? _Can_ she even remove it?

She decides that the best plan of action is staying as far away from Konoha as possible (which includes not talking or being seen by anyone – she shudders, thinking how Kakashi must feel now that she is gone too. How she left him, too.), as well as finding someone who can take care of the tag. How she will do that, though, is beyond her.

Rin finds herself so caught up in her own thoughts that she barely sees where she’s going. Not that she can see much with the dense fog in the first place. The more she walks, the thicker the fog seems to get. Troubling, but a good sign, since it means she’s not in the Land of Fire anymore.

A few meters away from her position, she manages to makes out a small wooden platform, most likely used by sailors to secure their boats. She approaches the bank, noting it hasn’t been used for a long time. Not sensing any danger, Rin sits down on it and folds her legs underneath her. She gazes at the water lapping against the platform, thinking how different it is from the water inside her mindscape.

Speaking of which. She tilts her head back and closes her eyes.

And then she’s back on said shared mind space. Rin is sitting on top of the stairs leading to the small wooden shrine, rocking her legs on the water back and forth as she glances at Isobu, who doesn’t seem bothered by her presence. “Um...”

“Yes?” prompts Isobu.

Honestly? She wanted to ask so many things. It wasn’t every day a Tailed-Beast was amicable to you. But for now… “Can I ask what’s it like to be a Tailed-Beast?”

Isobu regards her for a moment, eyeing her up and down, before answering. “Earlier you said you thought we were monsters, and while you’re not entirely wrong, there’s more to it than that,” he says. “When we were created we lived alongside humans for a very long time – they even worshiped us and built temples to honour us.” He lowers his head slightly, then sighs. “But humans proved themselves to be too greedy. We were controlled, used as weapons, and caused only destruction in the process.”

Rin blinks her eyes for a few seconds, taking in all the information she didn’t exactly ask. “You were… created?”

“Just like you were made, I suppose.”

“Uh,” she says, somewhat embarrassed. “I don’t think it works like that…” Rin continues to stare, thinking about her next question carefully. “If I remember correctly, Tailed-Beasts aren’t supposed to be on the wild. They have to be sealed into a person.” She stands up and begins walking closer to him. “So why weren’t you?”

“I haven’t had a jinchuuriki in 50 years. I mostly inhabited the many islands around the Water Country. Of course humans tried to bind me from time to time, but were never able to.” He says, rather proudly. He then pauses for a moment, before glancing back at Rin. “Well, until now.”

“I still don’t know why that happened...” Rin defends herself as she is met with the glare of a giant red eye.

“I would like to know that too.”

“Do all of you have jinchuuriki? You said you lived in a lake.”

“Well,” he begins. “After your _dear_ First Hokage sold us to the various villages, many decided to imitate his wife and bind us to humans. Most of my siblings were bounded to a human the moment they arrived at their respective villages.”

Wait. “Siblings?” Rin echoes. “So all the tailed Beasts gathered around the villages… You’re like family?”

“You could say that,” Isobu replies. He continues his previous thought. “Humans bind us to prevent us from destroying. Or so they like to believe, considering they’re the ones who force us to.”

“So you must all have a jinchuuriki.”

“Not all of us.” He perks up slightly. “Shukaku –you know him as One-Tail – currently lives inside a tea kettle,” Isobu chuckles. “It’s _so_ embarrassing. We all tease him for it. He hates it, though.”

“How? Sunagakure is so far away. Didn’t you say you lived around Kiri? How can you talk to each other?”

“We can talk through telepathy,” Isobu explains. “Similar to how I’m talking with you right now. But... differently.”

Rin blinks as a particular thought immediately crosses her mind. _Kushina!_ She practically yells her question as she jumps on her feet. “So could you talk with the Nine-Tails? Could you send him a message right now?”

Isobu shakes his head. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. I _can_ talk to my siblings, but that doesn’t mean they’ll answer me. Kurama hasn’t reached for any of us since he was first sealed into the Uzumaki nearly 80 years ago,” he says. “And I doubt he’d be happy to talk to someone who apparently holds affection for his current jinchuuriki.”

Rin doesn’t hide her disappointment, tugging at her apron. “I see...” she then taps a finger to her chin, deep in thought. “And his name is Kurama, huh.”

“He’s a feisty one.”

She smiles. “So’s his jinchuuriki.”

“Well,” he says. “That’s enough of that. I assume you didn’t come here just to chat.”

“That’s right,” Rin says. “There’s something that has been concerning me. You mentioned earlier something about controlling my chakra…?”

“Ah,” Isobu says. “Correct. There’s a possibility that our chakras aren’t compatible at all.”

She swallows. “What does that mean?”

“There is a strong possibility that, when you became my vessel, your chakra was disrupted – remember, when I was sealed onto you, it was very sudden and abrupt.” He replies. “This may, however be just an assumption,” he goes on. “If so, then your body will react positively to me, and you may even harness power from me. That is to say, if I _want_ to I can lend you some of my chakra to assist in battle.”

“And what happens if we aren’t compatible?”

Isobu doesn’t miss a beat. “Then you will explode.”

Rin drops her jaw, terrified.

“You _might_ explode. Forgive me if I don’t know all the details,” he says, quite amused at her reaction. “First, you need to make sure that you can actually use your chakra.”

Rin holds her ground. “I... I think I can handle it! I’m a med-nin, so I have very good chakra control!” She lowers her stance slightly. “Even if I still haven’t done my second exam yet...” she mumbles.

“Then why don’t you try and perform a simple jutsu? Or you can use water, since you do have water affinity.”

Seems simple enough, Rin figures. There’s plenty of water around her and… Hold on. “How did you know I have-?”

She doesn’t finish her words, as Isobu raises one of his tails and slams it on the surface of the water, causing a huge wave to form. Rin squeezes her eyes shut and covers her face with her arms as the wave approaches her. Then, she slowly opens her eyes and finds herself on the wooden platform again. She sighs. “A simple goodbye would suffice...”

She stands up from the platform and stares at the water. She curls her fists and takes a deep breath. _Let’s do this._

A clone is basic ninjutsu, but it would suffice for now. Rin weaves her hands through three hand seals and immediately squeezes her eyes shut. She hears a puff, then very, very carefully opens an eye to see a clone of herself standing next to her.

She sighs with relief when she doesn’t explode. That’s one thing accounted for.

_Might as well do everything in one go, right?_

She signs and the clone dissolves. She puts her hands up and forces chakra into her palms, creating the glowing green tinge of the Misty Palm. Another thing accounted for.

Now all that’s left...

“Try and give me some of your chakra,” she says aloud. “Just a small amount will be enough.”

_“That’s not a good idea. What if someone senses it? You should wait until you’re somewhere safe.”_

“We don’t know how long that’ll take. Besides,” she says. “I’ll move as soon as I’m done. Just a little! It won’t be enough to alert anyone nearby.”

_“I’m telling you, that’s not a good idea.”_

“Only a little!”

She hears Isobu sigh in her mind, resigned. _“Fine. But only a little.”_

She places a hand on her mouth and suppresses a giggle. Not really the moment for it.

Then, it’s like a lightning bolt hits her.

Her chakra _flares_ , causing a layer of bubbling red to surround her body. The calm waters around her begin to shift, and she feels so, so powerful.

Didn’t Isobu say he would lend her only little bit of chakra? It’s… terrifying. No wonder Tailed-Beats were feared all over the world. This was barely 10% of his chakra, but it was enough to raise the entire ocean.

“What do I do now?”

_“Focus. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you.”_

She recalls how, after Minato explained Kushina was a jinchuuriki, Kakashi asked her how she could keep such a monster at bay, and she replied happy memories did the trick. Maybe that works for Rin, too.

She closes her eyes, calling upon the memories of her family and friends to stay grounded, to not let herself falter.

She sees the day following her graduation, how Obito invited her to his home to celebrate with a cake baked by his grandmother. She sees Obito and Kakashi arguing over something insignificant as Rin and Minato giggle in the background. She recalls her twelfth birthday, when her mothers decided to throw her a surprise party when she was an intern at the Konoha hospital – that surely frightened some patients.

And then she sees Obito under the boulder, weakly grasping her hand as blood fall from his mouth. She sees him closing his eye as he is completely submerged in rocks, while Kakashi grabs her as the Iwa jounin arrive and-

She screams.

Rin tries to send those thoughts away, but the damage is already there.

The waters begin to shift and rumble, as if they have a will of their own. She is too late to dodge and is swept away by a large wave that completely engulfs her along with the platform. She’s underwater, desperately trying to paddle against the current while holding her breath.

She clutches at her throat, and hears a roar.

And then the water subsides. Rin pulls herself out of the water and begins swimming towards the shore. She coughs water from her lungs, then lays on the ground for a few minutes, catching her breath. “What…” she manages to say. “What happened?”

_“You’re not ready. I warned you. It’s too soon.”_

She stands up, her clothes soaking wet. “But I am ready!”

_“Clearly you’re not. Not when you let your negative emotions get the better of you.”_

“What’s that supposed to-”

Rin stops talking as the sudden sound of a twig breaking echoes through the mist. _She’s not alone._ Instinctively, she reaches for her holster and pulls out her explosive kunai, eyeing the area around her intensely.

A few meters away from her position, she manages to spot a figure slowly appearing out of the mist. It’s a tall girl, about her age, with auburn hair that reaches just below her shoulders. Her headband’s symbol is covered by her long bangs, but Rin doesn’t need to see it to realize what village she is from. The sword strapped to her hip and her pinstriped clothing are enough to identify her.

The first thought that crosses Rin’s mind is that this is, undoubtedly, the most beautiful girl she has ever seen in her entire life. The second is that she is _screwed_.

_“I told you…”_

Rin wastes no time and quickly throws the kunai at her. The girl dodges the explosion, weaves her hands through unfamiliar signs, and then disappears into the mist, which, Rin notes, is much thicker than before.

Rin retrieves another kunai and holds it defensively in front of her, clenching her teeth as she looks for a way out from the mist.

“Surrender and come with me,” she hears the girl say. “I do not wish to harm you.”

 _Yeah, right._ Kiri turned her into a jinchuuriki and were adamant in retrieving her, no doubt to get her to finish the job. Why wouldn’t they hurt her? Why even want her to go back if they were just going to send her to Konoha again to act as a bomb?

And if she went to Kiri, who knows what they’d do to her.

Rin’s ears pick up movement from behind her and she twirls around. The Kiri-nin jumps out of the mist and attempts to strike Rin with her sword. Rin manages to blocks it with her kunai, but the girl kicks her in the stomach, causing Rin to stumble back and slam against a tree.

Rin grabs at her stomach, realizing how much it burns where the other girl kicked. _They won’t take me. Not now._

“I told you,” the Kiri-nin eyes her over. “You can either come willingly or-”

Rin interrupts her, yelling, “No!” as she weaves her hands through a series of familiar hand signs in order to create some clones. Three clones puff into existence, and they all launch in different directions towards the Kiri-nin, who quickly dispels them with a swing of her sword.

That’s all the distraction she needed. Rin leaps forward and jabs her kunai in the girl’s shoulder, who recoils and screams in pain. Rin uses this as an opportunity to escape and runs towards the trees that are surrounded by the mist, ignoring how she’s most likely leaving a trail behind.

Without looking back, Rin forces her legs to move faster - or as much as her adrenaline rush will allow. She runs far away enough, but then stops abruptly. As Rin catches her breath, she realizes with dread that _everything looks exactly the same._ As if she has been running around in circles. She knows for a fact it’s not genjutsu, Kiri-nin don’t need it. They just toy with their opponents as they scramble to safety, then strike - which is exactly what’s happening to her now. Except the other kunoichi won’t strike her, not if she came because of _it_.

Rin tries again. She sprints forward, looking desperately for a way out, but almost slams into a tree if not for her quick reflexes. She groans with frustration. This all seems too familiar.

_“Don’t let your emotions get the better of you.”_

Before she can say anything at all, she feels cold metal being wrapped around her arm and is physically _pulled_ backwards with immense strength. She can only gape as the other girl has her fist up in the air.

She feels a sharp, _burning_ pain in her right eye before everything goes dark again.

* * *

“So, how do you like it?” Kushina asks as she adjusts Obito’s new forehead protector.

Obito faces way from Kushina and begins walking towards a mirror placed on the back of the room. Perhaps for the first time in almost a year, he can take a good look at himself.

He stares at his reflection in the mirror and contemplates how much he has changed: he’s taller than before, more muscular due to all the running and training he did in the cave, and is –understandably- paler. He runs a hand through his newly cut hair, and can see Kushina grinning and giving him a thumbs up from the back of the room.

Next to her, Mikoto calls out to him. “You’re safe here, you don’t need to have your Sharingan activated at all times.”

Obito blinks at the comment, not realizing he has had his doujutsu on for almost a year now. Huh. It just seemed natural to him. He was so eager to get his Sharingan, to finally prove himself to his clan and to his teammates. To everyone, really. And then, when he finally got it…

He turns away from the mirror and glances sheepishly at Mikoto, letting his eye darken. She was kind enough to bring his new clothes –black pants and a high-collared dark blue shirt with the Uchiha crest emblazoned on the back, which had once belonged to a younger Fugaku. When questioned about it, she simply replied it was no bother at all, as Itachi would likely need it one day. He was still nervous about wearing it, though.

“I think it looks good!” Kushina beams. “Doesn’t it look good, Mikoto?” She glances eagerly at said Uchiha, who gives an approving nod.

“Is it really alright for me to leave so soon?” Obito asks. The doctors were very adamant about running all sorts of tests around his patched side, most of which included sharp needles. _Very_ sharp needles.

“Well,” Kushina starts. “Other than the fact that your right side has been completely replaced with cells that belonged to the first Hokage…”

“Which can somehow regenerate themselves,” Mikoto adds.

“ _And_ other than the fact you now have Wood Release because of it, you’re super healthy.” Kushina says. “Of course the Hashirama and Wood part is still a secret, so don’t go showing off those around.” She waves her hands noncommittally. Then, her expression hardens. “You don’t want to attack the wrong kind of people.”

He swallows, knowing exactly what she means. “I won’t.”

Mikoto nods and stands up, stepping towards Obito. “So you’re coming with me back to the compound. Everyone is very excited to greet you.”

Obito gazes away from her and bows his head. “You don’t have to do this. I know you have your jounin duties and Itachi to care for, not to mention you’re helping with the war. I’d just be-”

“Obito,” she softly interrupts him. “It’s alright,” she gives him a fond smile and presses a finger to his forehead. “I can’t imagine what you’ve been through, but you don’t need to face it alone. I know things… weren’t great for you before, but I’ll make sure that won’t happen again. You won’t be alone this time. I’ll be here.”

Obito breathes heavily, taking in her kind words. How long has it been since someone’s been this kind to him?

He’s so focused on his thoughts that he doesn’t hear the sudden commotion outside the room. Mikoto perks up slightly at the sounds. She brings a hand to her mouth and suppresses a chuckle. “In fact, we’ll all be here for you.”

As Obito opens his mouth to speak, the door slams open and Might Guy jumps out. “Tobito!” he yells, scurrying towards the Uchiha, who snaps his head with a startle towards the sudden intrusion. “We finally got permission to see you!”

Obito hears more footsteps approaching and turns to spot Anko. “It’s Obito. Remember, Obito?” she says, stifling a laugh, as she steps through the door. Obito also spies Kurenai, Asuma, and Genma all slowly walking behind her.

Might Guy says, “Haha! That’s right!” as he places his hands triumphantly on his hips, his grin not wavering one bit.

“I told you he’d be fine,” Asuma says. Behind him is Kurenai, who Obito notes is carefully holding onto a wooden basket of some sort, covered by a cloth, with a pink bow wrapped around its handle.

Obito’s eye widens as he sees his friends slowly gathering around him. Kushina and Mikoto exchange a nod and step back to the back of the room in order to give the youngsters some space.

“We all figured you missed a lot since you d-,” Asuma suddenly stops and yelps as he is met with a swift elbow to the gut from Kurenai. He grunts, then clears his throat and continues. “Erm, I mean, we brought you these gifts so you could feel better.”

Kurenai gives Asuma a stern look, and then moves to stand in front of Obito. She hands him the basket and says, “This is a gift from all of us! Hope you like it!”

Guy jumps on the spot. “It’s like you have ‘get well soon’ gifts and birthday gifts all at once!” He then stops and taps a finger to his chin, deep in thought. “Even if we’re not exactly sure when your birthday is...”

Obito sheepishly reaches for the basket and removes the cloth covering it. He examines the content inside to find it full of fruit and chocolates of various sizes. Tears well up in his eye as he holds onto the basket with a tight grip. “You guys...”

Genma steps beside Kurenai. “They didn’t give us any details of what happened to you, but we’re glad you’re back,” he fiddles with the senbon on his mouth. “So if you need anything just give us a shout, alright?”

Anko nods. “You can count on us!”

“What _did_ happen to you, though?” Asuma asks, and quickly dodges to the side as Kurenai attempts to elbow him again.

Kushina steps forward, clearly noting how overwhelmed Obito seems. “Alright, alright,” she says. “That’s enough talking for now. The man has places to be!” she turns to face Mikoto. “Isn’t that right?”

Mikoto blinks. “Are you not coming with us?” she asks.

“Nope, there’s some stuff I need to do first.” Kushina pulls Mikoto into a hug, and then pokes her on the forehead. “I’ll see you later.” She begins walking away from the group when she suddenly stops and whips her head back to Mikoto. “Make sure he stays safe.” Mikoto nods, and with that, Kushina leaves the room.

“Well,” Asuma says, already stepping towards the door. “That’s our cue.”

“We still have missions to do,” Anko adds. “See ya around.”

“We’ll talk later!” Kurenai exclaims, already beginning to jog away after Asuma and Anko. Guy and Genma follow suit, waving and saying their goodbyes.

“Us too.” Mikoto says, and extends her hand towards Obito. “Let’s go home.”

* * *

Perhaps Mei went a little overboard with her last attack. She had no intention of harming the jinchuuriki at first, but there was no way she could let the girl escape.

She certainly was not expecting a girl of her age to have been chosen as, well, a sacrifice. She knows that they are usually picked as toddlers so they can adapt to each other right from the beginning.

Mei wasn’t even expecting the fact that she was an _outsider_. (From Konoha? Really?) Odd choice, but then again, she wasn’t one to question her superiors’ decisions (maybe Yagura would, but not her. She knew better than that).

That doesn’t stop from wondering _why_ that is, though.

Maybe… this girl fled her original village and ended up in Kirigakure -of all places- and kept the headband as a memento, then she was turned into a jinchuuriki to make sure she stayed loyal? Regardless, she has orders to bring her back. And she intends to do so.

Except, a more terrifying thought hits her. _This girl is a spy and sealed the beast into herself in order to bring it to Konoha._ It made sense! Kind of. It sure would explain the headband and why they sent chuunin after her and not any Hunters.

Mei had many conflicted feelings about Kiri, about how it treated those like her, how it use them as weapons during wars and how it force them to live on the fringes of Water. But Kiri was her home. She wouldn’t let anyone destroy it. Not before she could change it.

She briefly glances at the girl –now with a distinct black eye - tied up with wire against a tree. _Can’t let you escape again._

Mei shifts her position and winces at the pain in her left shoulder. She should have had used a water clone instead. She grabs at it, clenching her teeth and letting out a pained sound.

The Konoha kunoichi hums groggily and shakes her head, slowly opens her eyes. She takes a moment to fully take in her surroundings. Then she notices Mei, and shoots her a _very_ angry glare.

“You gave me no choice,” Mei says defensively, still grabbing at her shoulder. “I could not let you escape. You are coming back to Kiri with me.”

The girl doesn’t answer, and begins trying to break free from the restraints. Mei doesn’t mind, those are wires after all. If she’s smart, she’ll stay still and not get hurt.

“You know,” Mei begins. “You made a huge mistake. What did you think would happen after you left? Did you really think you could run away from us?”

The girl grits her teeth. “I didn’t flee.”

“So you say, _thief_.” Mei says as the other kunoichi attempts to escape from the wire. “Not only did you infiltrate our village, you also stole our Beast.”

The brunette stops moving momentarily to give Mei a very confused look. “I… What?”

“Oh, please. Don’t act coy now,” Mei narrows her eyes. “You stole the Three-Tails by sealing it into you. You intend to use it against us, don’t you?” she asks. “That will never happen.”

“You think _I_ did this? To myself?”

Mei waves a hand dismissively. “I just can’t understand why you chose to stay behind instead of just-”

The girl interrupts her, yelling, “ _You_ did this! You kidnapped me and turned me into this!” as she tries to break free even harder. “I _am_ calm!” the girl yells suddenly, seemingly at nothing. “I am perfectly calm!”

_Is she talking to the Tailed-Beast?_

The girl keeps going, saying, “Let me go! I need to get away from here!”

“Listen,” Mei begins, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. “I have no interest in hurting you. If you just-”

Mei stops as she feels a sudden chakra surge, and pointedly takes a step back. It was just like the one she felt before. If her theory was right and this girl _did_ seal the Three-Tails into her all by herself in such short notice, then there’s no way she can control it.

And it seems she’s right, as the Konoha-nin is getting increasingly agitated. Mei spares a glance at the girl’s face and nearly loses her footing when she notices magenta eyes glaring at her. Which is not a good sign. Not good at all. “Why did you do this to me! Why me?!” the kunoichi shouts.

Mei shakes her head. “What are you talking about? You are the one who-”

The girl lets out a roar and breaks free from the wires. Her clothes are singed and utterly soaked –probably from whatever happened before at the lake which, by the way, Mei’s very thankful for. She happened to be close by, but a chakra flare that big was enough to draw attention, which means those two probably felt it as well. No need for an explosive tag after all.

The Konoha-nin slowly pushes herself to her feet, glaring intently at Mei, or rather, at Mei’s _headband_. “You ‘re not taking me again.” Then, much to Mei’s surprise, the girl’s wounds seem to heal on their own. _So the rumors were true…_

Mei takes a deep breath and reaches for her sword. The movement makes her shoulder ache, but she ignores it. The girl mumbles something, and Mei dares to take a step forward. She doesn’t seem like she’ll attack any soon, taking their previous fight into consideration. Mei’s really surprised the girl hasn’t collapsed due to chakra exhaustion. Jinchuuriki perks, she figures. “Take you where?” Mei indulges her.

She grits her teeth and groans, and Mei can swear her skin just started to glow. “To Kiri!” she yells. “That’s why you’re here isn’t it? To take me back so you can finish the job!”

If Mei wasn’t confused before, she sure is now. “Finish the job?” she parrots. “You’re the one who took the Three-Tails from us!” That’s just her theory, anyway. A theory that, she now realizes, does not make any sense. How would this girl know how to seal a Beast? How would she even know where it was located? Maybe... Mei’s wrong.

She gawks. “You think I did this? To myself?”

Mei falters slightly at that. “But you ran!”

“I didn’t run! I was on a reconnaissance mission near the Water border when I was kidnapped by Kiri-nin,” she explains. “Who then proceeded to seal the Three-Tails into me.”

“That doesn’t...” Mei shakes her head. “That doesn’t make any sense! Why would we do that? We have been trying to get the Three-Tails for years now. What could we possibly accomplish by sealing it into a stranger?”

“How would I know? All I know is that you wanted me to destroy Konoha.”

Mei pinches her nose, considering her words. “Destroy...?” she trails off. “Where were you sealed?”

She lowers her head, and fidgets with her clothes. “I don’t… actually remember that. All I know is that I had Hunters after me, but I managed to get away from them.”

“So you have no proof that it was us who sealed you, correct?”

She stammers. “I-I...” she stands her ground. “Then why would they follow me in the first place?”

“That’s obvious,” Mei replies. She says, “An outsider who sealed-,” but stops herself. Her eyes widen as she snaps her fingers. “Your seal!”

The Konoha-nin blinks. “My seal? I’ve never-”

Mei cuts her off. “That seal,” she says, and takes a step towards her. “Let me see it.”

The girl takes a defensive stance and raises her fists as Mei approaches her.

Mei sighs. “I won’t hurt you, I just want to see it. I need to confirm something.”

The girl glares at her, but nods. Reluctantly, she lifts her apron to reveal her seal, the sight of which leaves Mei completely astonished.

Water seals are quite simple, not to mention sacred. One line on each corner and a small mountain in the middle -how all remain united under the constant mist; how even before Kirigakure was formed, all clans shared the same mountain deity. (Though Mei has to wonder what unity even means nowadays.)

Hers is not the case. It’s a ripple-like pattern, nothing Mei has ever seen before. _Definitely_ not from Water. “That is not one of ours.” Mei points out.

The other kunoichi blinks, pulling her apron down. “So? What does that mean?”

“It means there is no way you were sealed by Kiri.” Mei says. She begins pacing around, thinking how quickly her previous theory just crumbled to the ground. “It means whoever sealed the Three-Tails into you was not from Kiri.”

The Konoha-nin seems to have calmed down slightly, as her eyes are turning back to their original colour. “Let’s say I believe you,” she says. “Who, then?”

Mei stops walking and faces her. “I have no idea.”

The kunoichi doesn’t seem convinced one bit. “How do I know you’re not lying? Maybe you’re just saying this so I can go to Kiri with you and you can seal me again.”

“Or maybe you are the one who’s lying.” Mei bites back. She waves her hand. “Our seals are sacred to us. No one would even dare to change its design.”

“Who gave you this mission?”

“Who else? Our...” Mei stops. “Our Mizukage.” She places a hand into her chin. “Who has been behaving very… strange lately.”

“How strange?”

“As in, he won’t see anyone, no one is allowed to go near him other than his personal guard – he even dissolved the council!” she explains, not that the other girl would understand, judging by her confused expression. “He never leaves his tower. No one remembers the last time they saw him in public.”

The Konoha-nin pauses, crossing her arms. A moment of silence passes, and she says, “Why would your Mizukage want to seal a Tailed-Beast into an enemy?”

Mei bits her lip. “The jounin who gave me this mission said it came from the Mizukage... Maybe there’s more to it than that.”

“You said he never goes anywhere, right? How would he even seal a Tailed-Beast?”

Mei falls silent over the many possibilities that currently hover on her mind. Were the jounin planning something? Is the Mizukage involved? Does he even know about this?

The Konoha-nin clears her throat, breaking Mei’s train of thought. “At least let me heal you,” she says. She takes a deep breath and forces chakra into her hands. _A med-nin?_ “I still don’t trust you, but if what you say is true...”

“It is.” Mei interrupts, eyeing the other girl carefully as she reaches forward with her hand glowing green.

“Then I want to find out why this happened to me.” She presses her hand against Mei’s shoulder, causing her to hiss. There’s a warm sensation, and the wound slowly closes.

Mei tugs at her shoulder, now fully-healed. “I want to know why as well.” Mei says. “You still need to come with me. The Three-belongs to Kirigakure, and the more you linger here, the worse it is for you.”

She frowns. “The Three-Tails doesn’t belong to anyone.” The girl looks as if she’s deliberating for a moment, tapping her feet. “It’s not like I can go back, anyway…” she mutters under her breath. “But if I go with you, I want to figure out _why_ this happened to me.”

Mei sighs and places a hand on her forehead. “I don’t know how I will explain this to the others.”

“Others?”

“I did not exactly come alone.”

* * *

The trip back to the compound is mostly quiet. Obito walks with his head down, careful not to make any eye contact with any passing civilians and shinobi alike – who all shoot him bewildered looks. He strategically hides behind Mikoto, tugging at his headband in a vain attempt to cover his face.

Mikoto turns her head back and briefly glances at Obito, giving him a reassuring smile. He swallows the lump on his throat and keeps following the familiar path that leads to the compound. Just before they reach the entrance, however, he realizes there’s a crowd waiting for him. Most of them are Uchiha –he thinks he spots Itachi leaning against one of the pillars, surely waiting for his mother- but there are also children and many, _many_ elderly, whose voices all echo through each other.

“Whoa! It’s really him!”

“Is he a zombie now?”

“He got so tall!”

Obito stops on his tracks. He certainly wasn’t expecting this kind of reception. He takes a moment to glance at all the people waiting for _him_. (When did people start caring?)

He suddenly feels someone tug at his pants. He gazes down and sees a young girl with short dark hair eyeing him. “Can I touch your face?” she asks.

The child’s mother immediately steps forward and chastises her, but Obito says, “It’s alright,” before kneeling down to face the curious child.

The girl beams as she runs a hand through his scarred side. “Coool...”

He stands up and gazes at the crowd. He recognises most of the elderly he had previously helped. They’re all smiling, and most of them aren’t hiding the fact that they’re holding small pieces of candy in their hands. He doesn’t have the heart to tell them food has no effect on him anymore.

“What are you all doing here...?”

An elderly woman slowly steps from behind the crowd and begins addressing Obito. “You have always been so kind to us, and never expected anything in return,” she says. “I remember that time I went shopping and you were so kind to offer to carry my groceries...”

“Or when you offered to carry my bags on my way to the hospital...” another old man says.

Another old man holding onto a cane with shaky hands says, “And when I forgot the way to the Academy and you were so kind to walk with me.”

An Uchiha couple steps forward, and Obito notices the man is holding a small pamphlet in his hands. “It’s a coupon for free sanbei!” The man says, proudly displaying said pamphlet. He glances around the crowd, clearly expecting some sort of applause or cheer, but is instead met with looks of confusion. The man sheepishly lowers his stance and clears his throat. He offers the pamphlet to Obito, who takes it without a word. “I know it’s not a very usual gift, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.”

The woman next to him smiles and says, “All Uchiha love sanbei after all.”

Obito has no idea what to say as he rubs at his eye as tears begin to stream down his face. They all came to see him back. _Him._

Mikoto wraps her arms around Obito, drawing him into a warm embrace. “You’re home now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akina and Haruko are Rin's moms, so if you don't like OC's that much, don't worry they'll (probably?) be the only ones I'll add.


End file.
